Yeah, I know, I'm a sucker.
Like the Final Fantasy set for Magic the Gathering (which came out not long after my playthrough of all six Pixel Remasters, so I was pretty caught up on old-school FF lore,) my general distaste for corporate synergy has been overcome by a deep-rooted affection for the Warcraft universe and so I'm actually pretty hyped about the upcoming WoW/D&D sourcebook.
There's a ton to imagine - including a rather extensive list of subclasses (I don't think we're getting subclasses for quite all the classes, but I think it'll be the most subclasses in a single book since the Player's Handbook, and setting that aside, probably since Tasha's).
But I figured we could be relatively concise here and instead imagine what monsters we might see included.
The total number of monsters listed is 50 "monsters" and 30 "dungeon bosses." I'm assuming that the latter will be legendary creatures (will they be specifically from the dungeons being re-created for D&D? I think probably a lot of the boss fights in those dungeons will be dealt with as more standard encounters, which hopefully frees up iconic bosses from other eras of WoW).
50 Monsters is still a fair number, even setting aside those dungeon bosses.
The book is said to touch on all the eras of WoW from its launch in 2004 to the current Midnight expansion (the 12.0 version of the game, meaning the eleventh expansion). If we figure a good 10 at least are going to be perennial creatures that are found in nearly every expansion, that leaves 40 to spread out across those 11 expansions (if we imagine Vanilla was sort of home to the "standard" creatures). So, roughly four per expansion, which isn't enormous (though there might be some crossover).
I'll group those "perennial" monsters in with Vanilla. I don't promise to make a comprehensive 50-monster list, but it might not be that hard to do.
Vanilla:
Murlocs:
Unofficial mascots of the series, Murlocs are fish-people who, yes, bear a bit of a resemblance to Kuo-Toa, but are kind of more colorful and... well, I wouldn't say they're goofier, but maybe goofy in a different way.
Abominations:
Most of the Undead Scourge can be handled with existing Undead stat blocks that already exist in D&D. Abominations are ostensibly Flesh Golems, but they're definitely either Large or Huge size and they very specifically have hooked chains they use to reel in foes.
Satyrs:
Yes, Satyrs exist in D&D, but they're very different. In WoW, Satyrs are demons that used to be Night Elves. They're somewhat unique among demons, though, as they tend not to be loyal to the Burning Legion (omnicidal high-tech demonic space army bent on burning the cosmos to a cinder) but are instead tied to the Emerald Nightmare, which seeks to corrupt the natural world with the influence of the Old Gods (think Great Old Ones).
Quillboars:
Standard common humanoid enemies, Quillboars are kind of pig-people who also have porcupine spines for some reason, and don't seem inherently evil so much as just aggressive.
Two-Headed Ogre Mages:
Ogres in WoW are a bit weird, because for the most part, they're the same big dumb brutes they are in D&D, but they also have a history of having a sort of vaguely Roman-coded empire with a strong tradition of arcane magic, which is most often the practice of two-headed ogres (maybe having two heads makes them smart enough?)
Naga:
The Naga are a common recurring threat: former Night Elves who would have been drowned during the Sundering ten thousand years ago (in which most of the world's surface was flooded) if Queen Azshara (the powerful and vain mage-queen of the Night Elves at the time, who had kind of opened the door to a demonic invasion by the Burning Legion) hadn't made a deal with the Old God N'zoth. Now, they're aquatic, serpentine people who are ruthless and vast in number, still serving their queen.
Keepers of the Grove/Dryads:
I think these are really basically the same species, but the males are called Keepers of the Grove while the females are called Dryads. Unlike D&D Dryads, these are kind of "deer centaur," and it was actually the union of one of them with an Earth Elemental that birthed the centaurs. Again, often affiliated with the Night Elves.
Drakonids:
Giant humanoid dragonkin, the Drakonids were created by the dragons to serve and protect them. Not to be confused with the Dracthyr, though Drakonids weirdly look more like D&D's Dragonborn.
Troggs:
Honestly, these could probably be covered by Grimlocks, but they're just different enough that I would maybe need something different.
Dragonspawn:
Very much like the Drakonids, these were created by the Dragons to serve them. Dragonspawn are... kind of "dragon centaurs."
Dreadlords:
Also known as the Natrhezim, these demons are the ultimate infiltrators (in a bit of lore that they almost seem to be backpedaling away from, they were even revealed to have not originally been demons, and infiltrated the Burning Legion). In many ways the classic demon-looking demons (kind of like a D&D Horned Devil).
Burning Crusade:
Man'ari Eredar:
The corrupted Eredar from whom the Draenei split, the Man'ari are among the most powerful demons in the Burning Legion (while the Legion was ultimately led by the Dark Titan Sargeras, it was the Eredar Kil'jaeden and Archimonde who really ran its day-to-day operations.
Ethereals:
Former humanoids whose physical bodies were lost in an effort to defeat the Void Lord who invaded their home world of K'aresh, the Ethereals hold their form with magically-treated bandages, under which you can see the glowing essence of their spirits.
Fel Reaver:
Among the most terrifying constructs created by the Burning Legion, a giant mech, essentially.
Arrakoa:
Yeah, not Aaracokra, though if they sound similar, that's probably not a coincidence, as they're also bird people. At least in Outland (the present day version of the world that was once Draenor,) the only surviving Arrakoa are whose who were infected by the shadowy power of Sethe, and lost their wings and walk hunched and twisted. They have become practitioners of shadowy magic.
Broken:
Members of the Draenei who were afflicted by a curse (actually related to that of the Arrakoa) that has cut them off from The Light and broken their bodies, but are still part of Draenei society.
Naaru:
Celestial beings that look like giant crystal structures and are sort of the primary "entities" of the Light. While in theory it's extremely rare, players of WoW have often witnessed Naaru falling into their Dark/Void versions.
Wrath of the Lich King:
Vrykul:
The viking-like giants and ancestors of humanity were originally Titan constructs before they were transformed by the Curse of Flesh. In Wrath, their ancient king was taken out of stasis by the Scourge and he led his people into an alliance with the Lich King.
Faceless Ones/N'raqi:
Towering tentacle-faced creations of the Old Gods, the Faceless Ones sow madness wherever they go.
Taunka:
Bison-like off-shoots of the Tauren people native to Northrend, the Taunka join up with the Horde, but they're a little less focused on harmony with nature than the Tauren.
Wolvar:
Wolverine-people!
Tuskarr:
Walrus people!
Var'ghul:
Undead vrykul who failed to become the elite Ymirjar and now serve the Lich King in death.
Cataclysm:
Twilight Dragons:
One of Deathwing's experimental draconic hybrids, these dragons are linked to a mysterious "twilight realm," and are basically all crazy.
Stone Worms:
Earth Elementals that look like a series of gem-encrusted stone rings.
Earthen:
They actually show up in Vanilla, and they'll be playable, but we might get some stat blocks as well. The pre-Curse of Flesh version of the Dwarves. (They're actually quite central to The War Within).
Merciless Ones:
Aberrations that look like floating octopuses and latch onto peoples' heads to mind-control them.
Mists of Pandaria:
Mogu:
Tyrannical ancient rulers of Pandaria who managed to reverse the Curse of Flesh to return to their original stone forms and wish to re-conquer the continent and subjugate all its people.
Hozen:
Monkey-folk who get swept into fighting the Alliance in the name of the Horde.
Jinyu:
Fish-folk who get swepet into fighting the Horde in the name of the Alliance:
Sha:
Monstrous spirits born from the dying curse of the Old God Y'shaarj who thrive on negative emotions and help spread those feelings.
Virmen:
Crazed rabbit-people who like to steal things and destroy farms.
Grummles:
Delightful mountain-folk who are vaguely ground-hog like.
Warlords of Draenor:
Botani:
Vicious plant-people who seek to spread and take over everything, feeding on animal life.
Ogrons:
Cyclopean ancestors to the Ogres (who are themselves ancestors to the Orcs).
Gronn:
Cyclopean ancestors to the Ogrons.
High Arrakoa:
Warlords of Draenor takes place in an alternate timeline that's also displaced by 35 years, and these are the Arrakoa as they were before the curse of Sethe, who are pretty nasty and persecute those who have been cursed.
Legion:
Drogbar:
Subterranean ogre-like/troll-like people.
Withered:
Nightborne elves past the point of no return in withdrawal from lack of arcane magic, turned mindless.
Valarjar:
Vrykul warriors chosen after death to be given new metallic bodies in service to the Titanforged Keeper Odyn.
Inquisitors:
Among the many demons of the Burning Legion, these eyeless, floating demons are often accompanied by several floating eye-demons. Honestly, there are a ton of Burning Legion demons to go with, and we might start off with more perennial ones like Felguards, Infernals, and Doomguards, while we might be able to just reskin Hell Hounds as Felhounds.
Storm Dragons:
Existing outside of the five standard dragonflights, the Storm Dragons of the Broken Isles might be able to just be re-skinned Bronze or Blue dragons, but we'll see.
Battle For Azeroth:
Drustvar Witch:
The witches of Drustvar are... it's not clear if they're actually human (maybe former humans). Their constructs might simply use something like Scarecrows. Though to be fair, they could also just be treated like Hags.
K'thir:
Well, the funny thing is that these could easily just be Mind Flayers, as they look exactly like them. Still, these more humanoid-like servants of the Old Gods feel like a possibility.
Sethrak:
Snake-people of the desert of Vol'dun.
Aqir:
Aberrant sapient insectoids who were created by the Old Gods.
Shadowlands:
Kyrians:
Angelic beings of the realm of Bastion, the afterlife for those who dedicated their lives to the service of others.
Venthyr:
Vampire-like beings of the realm of Revendreth, the gothic purgatory of the Shadowlands.
Sylvar:
One of the fey species of the Night Fae in the nature-tied afterlife of Ardenweald.
Brokers:
Mysterious soul-traders that travel the Shadowlands, revealed recently to actually be another group of people from K'aresh, and are essentially the same as the Ethereals but with different containment suits.
Devourers:
Void beings that have broken into the Shadowlands to devour souls.
Dragonflight:
Primal Dragons:
Dragons that are more elemental-like than reptilian, who rejected the transformation that the Titans gave to the original five Dragon Aspects.
Djaradin:
Giantkin who have long warred with the Dragons.
Niffen:
Underground mole-like people.
Infinite Dragons:
Warped versions of the Bronze Dragonflight. The Bronze Dragons were made guardians of the timeline, while the Infinite Dragons seek to create and explore infinite branching timelines. (Presented initially as chaotic evil, they're now kind of chill.)
War Within:
Kobyss:
Humanoid kind of angler-fish people who seem totally insane, use necromancy, and rise from the depths to attack surface-dwellers.
"Ascended" Nerubians:
Certain Nerubians were remade with the void powers of Xal'atath to weirdly become more humanoid in appearance.
Scarab Lords:
I mean, we've touched on Nerubians before, but their giant Scarab-Lords would certainly warrant a stat block (and they showed up as early as Vanilla, if not WCIII).
Big Kobolds:
I can't recall if they're actually called Swolbolds, or if that was just a Tome of Beasts entry. Notably, Kobolds in WoW are more like rat-people, who have a cultural obsession with candles (important when you live underground and need to ward off creatures of darkness). Kobolds in WoW like to wear candles on top of their heads.
Midnight:
Petalwings:
Well, there's a lot of creatures from Harandar that look like beasts but are actually plants. Petalwings are bird-plants.
Dominaar:
Beings from the world now simply known as the Void Storm, the Dominaar are treacherous and radical individualists, treating every relationship as one that is transactional and due eventually to end in one betraying the other.
Ultradons:
Bipedal beasts who seem to be the apex predators of the Void Storm, infused with the selfish, hungering essence of the void.
Pangolil:
Large pangolin-like creatures from the forested Troll nation of Zul'Aman.
Blood Elf Crystal Defenders:
The Blood Elves have long had arcane constructs that defend Silvermoon and Quel'thalas in general.
Conclusion:
So, this is actually a bit tough, overall. WoW does tend to focus on villainous factions, so a lot of the things we fight are actually humanoids. I've generally skipped over a lot of those, figuring they can be handled by normal humanoid stat blocks, but the truth is that we'll probably get a fair number of WoW-specific humanoids among those 50 monsters.
I'm also sure I've left out some really iconic ones here, focused on doing a relatively even spread between expansions. In all likelihood, I imagine we'll probably get more stuff from the more popular expansions, like Wrath and Legion.
Anyway, it'll be interesting to see.
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